French guy finds Vietnamese soul through football

With a Vietnamese grandmother, Francois Bibonne hopes to understand more about his roots through his self-made film about football, including coach Philippe Troussier.

In November 2023, 28-year-old Francois arrived in Vietnam with a small amount of money that he had raised over many months through sponsorship and friends. Along with that were unformed ideas for an upcoming film with the theme of Vietnamese football, which he believed could help him better understand his second homeland that had appeared through his grandmother's stories.

Francois during an interview with Coach Troussier in November 2023. Photo: NVCC

Thanks to an acquaintance, Francois met Coach Troussier. At that time, the French coach was preparing for the match between the Philippines and Iraq in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers - Asia region. Francois was granted a card by the VFF to attend these two matches as a journalist. After the Iraq match on November 21, he met Coach Troussier in a small room at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi.

"Coach Troussier is very friendly. He helped me understand more about the job of a coach, understand how a coach thinks, his spirit on the field and how to connect with the players," Francois shared with VnExpress . "I also understand that I cannot use my own logic to explain a coach's decisions. Troussier has an impressive ability to connect football and music. I think being the coach of the Vietnamese team is a difficult job, but he wants to prove that he can create great things for football here."

In the 45-minute interview, Coach Troussier explained to Francois his football philosophy, something he rarely shares with the Vietnamese media. He compared the job of a head coach to that of a conductor of an orchestra and affirmed that he does not allow his team to have stars, but that every player must put their ego aside for the sake of the team's victory.

Short Film The Symphony Wins

Coach Troussier talks about his football philosophy in a video made by Francois in Vietnam.

This view seems to have been expressed by Coach Troussier in nearly a year of leading the Vietnam team, since officially signing the contract on February 16, 2023. He dismissed many stars, pillars of the team under his predecessor Park Hang-seo, and gave opportunities to young players. The 68-year-old coach wants the team to become an automated machine. He urges the players to make decisions faster, proactively and confidently.

So far, although showing some positive signs when facing strong teams like Japan or Iraq, Vietnam under coach Troussier has not met expectations. The French coach's philosophy was questioned after the friendly match - losing 0-2 to China on October 10, 2023, and especially the 0-1 loss to Indonesia on January 19, which caused Vietnam to be eliminated in the group stage of the Asian Cup.

Francois interviews Guillaume Graechen - a French coach who has been training youth in Vietnam since 2007. Photo: NVCC

However, Coach Troussier is just one of the people Francois wants to interview. He wants to meet more players, coaches and influential figures in Vietnamese football. Among them are the captain of the women's team Huynh Nhu, Coach Guillaume Graechen - the creator of the generation of Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong... or Ryan Ha, a Vietnamese-French player who is playing for Binh Duong Club.

However, finding people to interview is a difficult process. "There are many people I want to meet but they are far away or not available. For example, I wanted to interview Huynh Nhu in Portugal but it was too difficult," the French freelance filmmaker shared, adding that he also faced budget difficulties and admitted that he was not knowledgeable about football.

However, it was that novelty that made Francois excited to take the plunge. And the success of his first film three years ago also gave him more motivation.

Francois at the premiere of the film "Once Upon a Bridge" in Vietnam in April 2023. Photo: NVCC

In 2021, Francois made his first film in Vietnam, "Ngay Xua Co Mot Nhip Cau", telling the story of Vietnam through classical music. The work won the Best Short Documentary award at the Los Angeles Film Awards in January 2022. To date, "Ngay Xua Co Mot Nhip Cau" is still being shown in many countries such as France, the US, Belgium and the UK. The next screening will be held at Harvard University on March 28.

Francois believes that football will be a good material to connect Vietnam and France, as well as Vietnamese people around the world. "My first impression of Vietnamese football came through social media. I can see how large the audience is and how excited the fans are after a successful match, for example at the SEA Games. I also think football is a magical tool to connect Vietnamese people abroad and Vietnamese people in the country. I have heard many French people of Vietnamese origin in Paris talk about Vietnamese football," he commented.

Francois revealed that he will find ways to connect football with the rhythm of the Central Highlands gong, thereby further transmitting Vietnamese culture to the outside world. He believes that football is also an art and has its own culture in Vietnam. "Recently, new academies have emerged after the success of JMG, VPF and Park Hang-seo. In fact, Vietnamese football has a blend of Korean influence and Western culture from England and France," he said.

Francois and his grandmother Nguyen Thi Khoan around 1999 to 2000. Photo: NVCC

The filmmaker, born in 1995, was deeply influenced by his grandmother Nguyen Thi Khoan. She was born in 1934 in Hai Phong and lived in Hanoi, Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City. In 1954, she followed her husband to France and settled there until her death in 2018. During her years away from home, Mrs. Khoan often reminisced, told stories and cooked Vietnamese dishes for her grandson. She also taught Francois his first Vietnamese words such as "Hello", "Thank you", "Nothing"...

"My grandmother always spoke well of Vietnam and never mentioned the war. She had been to Vietnam twice before she passed away. I used to wish I could go back to Vietnam with her. After she passed away, I had the opportunity to return here with my father, mother and brother," Francois recalled. "Through her stories and after my first trip to Vietnam, there was something mystical here that urged me to return. To this day, Vietnam is like my second home. No matter what happens, I will continue to return and explore more about this place. I have started to learn Vietnamese and make Vietnamese friends."

Francois plans to return to Vietnam in September to interview the remaining subjects. He hopes to complete the documentary by November.

Quang Huy

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/chang-trai-phap-tim-hon-viet-qua-bong-da-4710999.html